Beast
by TonksIsMyHero
Summary: The SVU has to face a particularly tough case: a rape at a selfhelp lecture where the target is a woman who cannot speak. The only witness cannot hear. With leads at every turn and their newest detective in trouble, where will they turn? COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own "Law and Order: SVU" or any of the characters that have not appeared on previous episodes.

**CHAPTER ONE**

**DOINK-DOINK**

"John, you free?"

Detective John Munch of the NYPD Special Victims Unit looked up. He had been occupied with refilling his coffee mug in hopes of getting a caffeine jolt to help him burn the night oil. His fellow detective, Elliot Stabler, was hurrying toward him, and Munch spilled the hot coffee over his hand.

"Little bastard," he said to the coffee pot. "What?"

"Just got a call from a guy who needs someone at the Descartes Lecture Hall. You up for it?" asked Elliot.

"Sure. Where's Olivia?"

"Still with that girl from Peru."

"Right. How's she doing?"

"She'll be okay. Liv's made her more comfortable, speaking Spanish with her and all that. Ready to go?"

"Okay," Munch stole one last gulp of his coffee and jammed his hat on. "Let's go. Only…"

"What?"

"It's not that guy talking about how the uninformed way is the only way, is it? He's the one who says sex education shouldn't be taught in schools…what's his name? Tobey Marks?"

"Yeah. I hope not. I'd hate to have to retrieve your flashlight from his tonsils," said Elliot as the men exited the station house.

"He's the same idiot who rambled on the radio for about an hour about the same topic. Said that kids don't need to learn about rape and assault in school because it just gives them ideas," said Munch, starting the car.

"I know, John. He's a jerk."

"And he's the same esoteric fanatic who said that if a girl gets raped, that's her problem for dressing provocatively? _And _he's the one who verbally attacked that girl in Virginia because she started a charity that advocates sexual assault prevention education. He called her a 'liberal floozy who just wants to be able to tell any girl it's okay to cry rape when she makes a bad judgment'. Can you believe that? The girl's only seventeen. I say good for her for doing all that. I want to just strangle that Marks guy. He's so –"

"John, shut up. I know. I can't stand him either. But he's not the one speaking tonight and that's not the point anyway," said Elliot, finally having enough of Munch's rambling. "Let's just focus on the vic, okay?"

"Okay," said Munch. "But we're agreed that Tobey Marks is a first-class dim-witted boorish rogue?"

"Yes to all of the above."

**DOINK-DOINK**

"Detectives Stabler and Munch, Sex Crimes," said Elliot, flashing his badge at the security guard. "What happened?"

"I don't really know. I mean, it's all confusion. The lady didn't make a lot of sense," said the guard. "I didn't think anyone here could have hurt anyone else."

"What do you mean?"

"Most of the audience tonight is disabled in one way or another. A lot of folks in wheelchairs, some blind, deaf, sick, whatever."

"Why's that?" asked Munch.

"Speaker tonight was Phillip Cornell."

"Oh yeah…that 'Re-able Yourself' guy. I read something about him. Who's the vic? Did she say what happened?"

"I dunno. She's deaf and really upset, so it was hard to understand what she was saying. She was screaming and signing at a million miles an hour, but I couldn't make any sense of it. We don't know where her translator went and most of the audience was gone by the time we got to her, so anyone who could have helped is long gone. Her name's…I dunno, Allie? Annie? Something like that. Ran over my feet with her wheelchair when I tried to take her hand."

Elliot looked at Munch and knew what he was thinking because the same thought had crossed his mind. Munch slowly took off her hat.

"Where is she now?" he asked.

"This way," said the guard. "Kinda pretty girl. Shame something like this happened."

Elliot and Munch followed the guard to a small room off of the main hallway. They could hear two voices arguing – one clear as a bell, the other slightly slurred. Munch opened the door and felt his heart stop as his fears were confirmed. There, sitting in her wheelchair, signing and yelling angrily at another security guard, was none other than Amy Solwey.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own SVU. EvilSheep, let's start a "Buy John Munch" fund, though, so we can own at least one aspect of it…

**CHAPTER TWO**

**DOINK-DOINK**

"Amy!" said Munch, before remembering that she couldn't hear him.

The guard moved out of Amy's way so that she could see Munch clearly. She stared and fell silent, her hands finally still.

"John? You're working this?" she said in her low voice.

The guards left Elliot and Munch with Amy. Munch knelt next to her.

"We heard you got hurt," he said, moving his mouth carefully so he could read his lips. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened. I'm fine," said Amy.

"Amy, it's okay if you're scared, but you have to tell us. We can catch this guy."

"I'm telling you. It wasn't me. It's another girl and she's still in the bathroom, I think!"

"What?" said Elliot.

Munch turned to Elliot. "You go check the bathroom."

"What did you say?" asked Amy.

"Elliot's going to look in the bathroom. I'm staying here with you."

"It's on the second floor."

"Okay," said Elliot, and he left.

"Tell me what happened," Munch asked Amy.

"I went into the bathroom after the speech. When I got there, a woman was on the floor and crying. She's still there!"

Munch signed to her, "It's okay. What next?"

Amy seemed to think that Munch knew much more sign language than he did, because she launched into a tirade of hand signs. Munch put up his own hand to stop her.

"I don't know that much," he said. "Sorry."

"It's okay," said Amy. "When I went in, I tried to ask her what happened, but she couldn't tell me."

"Too upset?" said Munch.

"I don't know. I left and said 'rape' until someone listened to me. They thought I was raped, but it was that other lady."

"How do you know what happened if she couldn't talk?"

"I said she was on the floor crying."

"Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean –"

"Her skirt was on the floor, too, about eight feet away from her."

**DOINK-DOINK**

Elliot sprinted to the bathroom. On the floor, leaning against a stall barrier, was a woman wearing just a shirt and her underwear. She was holding her skirt to her chest and breathing heavily, crying. Elliot knelt down next to her.

"Hi," he said. "My name's Elliot Stabler. I'm a detective. I'm here to help you."

The woman only cried harder. Elliot put a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked right into his eyes.

"I'm here to help, sweetheart," Elliot reiterated. "Just tell me what happened."

The woman started making husky gagging noises, gesturing toward her mouth, and mouthing silent words.

"Okay, okay. Shh. Do you need some water? I'll get you a cup."

Elliot moved to get water, but the woman stopped him by grabbing his arm. She shook her head and made a writing motion on her palm. Elliot quickly took out his pad and pen. The woman took them with shaking hands and wrote something down. Elliot looked. She had written, "My name is Maria Sedivi".

"Okay, Maria, let's get you dressed."

Maria nodded. Elliot helped her up and turned his back so she could put her skirt back on. After a moment, she tapped Elliot on the shoulder, indicating she was ready to go. Elliot put an arm around her and led her downstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **"SVU" is not mine. This story is, though, so please don't copy me.

**CHAPTER THREE**

**DOINK-DOINK**

Back at the precinct, Munch and Amy sat at his desk while he took her statement and waited for Elliot to return from the hospital with their victim. Amy seemed to be getting tired of repeating her story.

"Look, I'm sorry. This is all standard procedure," Munch explained.

"I know. My mouth is tired. I'm not used to talking this much at once," said Amy.

"Okay. Let's take a break. Can I get you anything? Coffee?"

"Sure."

Munch got up to fix some coffee for the two of them. As he did, Detective Olivia Benson entered the stationhouse.

"Hey, Munch," she said. "Where's Elliot?"

"Not here yet. He called you in?"

"Yeah. He said he can't get a word out of the vic and thought she might open up to a woman," said Olivia, glancing at Amy. "What's she doing here?"

"We thought she was the vic, but she's just a witness. It's all squared away. How'd you get away? I thought you were with the Peruvian girl – what was her name? Carmen?"

"Yeah. She wanted some sleep. Elliot called and now I'm here, but until he gets here, I'm crashing."

"I'll wake you when he's here."

"Thanks."

Munch brought Amy her coffee. She took a sip and sighed deeply.

"How have you been?" Munch asked her.

"Good."

"And have they found you a, uh…"

Munch trailed off mid-sentence, realizing that asking whether or not they'd found Amy a kidney probably wasn't the best topic of conversation. Amy, however, gave a small smile and shook her head.

"I'm still waiting," she said. "But I'm feeling better. I _want _to live."

"Good," said Munch, managing a small smile back.

"That's why I went to see Phillip Cornell. His lectures are so…hopeful. It's good for me."

"That's good. I'm glad you're taking care of yourself."

"Well, it's all thanks to you," said Amy, now grinning fully.

Munch didn't really know how to respond, so he took a sip of his coffee. As nice as it would have been to feel pride in being the one responsible for convincing Amy not to commit suicide, he felt a certain shame. True, a burden had been lifted when he'd told her about his father, but the guilt and grief he'd battled for decades had resurfaced and threatened to break free. He hated his father for what he'd done, but missed him terribly. He was angry at Amy for putting him in a position that forced him to revisit that part of his life, but grateful to have someone – anyone – to talk to without worry about being judged. After a moment, Amy laid a hand on his, a gesture that to the two of them was a symbol of their unspoken agreement to always be there for one another.

"Hey," she said. "It's going to be okay."

Munch knew she wasn't talking about her kidneys. He looked down at the table and their hands.

"I know," he said, and he gave her hand a little squeeze before letting go.

**DOINK-DOINK**

"Hi, Maria, I'm Olivia Benson. Can you tell me what happened?"

Elliot and Maria had finally arrived at the precinct and Olivia had joined them to try and take her statement. Maria shook her head and tucked a lock of her hair back. Elliot sighed and left the room.

"You've already gone to the hospital?"

Maria nodded.

"Maria, I know you're scared and I know you're tired, but I can't help you unless you talk to me."

Maria paused, and then picked up the pad of paper and pen Elliot had left behind. She began to write, slowly at first, and then a furious scribble. Finally, she handed the front-and-back page to Olivia, who read aloud:

"_My name is Maria Sedivi, age twenty-nine. When I was twenty-six, I was beat up by my ex-husband. He hit me in the throat with a claw hammer and I lost my ability to speak. Tonight, the machine I use to speak was stolen when I was attacked again. What went on tonight was that I went into the bathroom to fix my hair before leaving. I heard someone come in behind me, but I couldn't see who because he put something over my face. He hit my shoulder and I fell against a stall, scratching my arm. He pulled my skirt off and pushed my underwear to the side, then raped me. When he stopped, he told me to close my eyes. He took the cover off of my face and left. He took my speaking machine with him. I didn't open my eyes until I heard the door close. I crawled across the floor to get my skirt, but before I could, I started crying. A lady in a wheelchair came in and asked what happened, but I couldn't say anything. She left and about half an hour later, the detective came and got me and took me to the hospital."_

Olivia looked up. Maria was staring at the table, fighting not to cry.

"Did he say anything?" she asked, handing Maria a fresh piece of paper. She took it back after Maria had finished.

Olivia didn't read this out loud. She knew it would upset Maria greatly. She had written, "Good thing you can't scream".


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **In this chapter enters one of the only characters I own: Detective Caroline Schmidt! That means that I DO NOT OWN ANYONE ELSE. So don't take them, please. Also, I don't own UltraVoice. Those things are just cool.

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**DOINK-DOINK**

"Book of matches, couple paper towels, soap, and – ah, a lighter. Probably some good prints on that. I'd hate to think how many other fingers have been in this place."

The newest member of the SVU family, Detective Caroline Schmidt, had arrived at the crime scene with Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola. The bathroom seemed fairly clean and normal, while Caroline seemed fairly annoyed and frustrated at the apparent lack of evidence.

"So he comes up behind her and puts something over her face," she said. "Fin, you be the attacker."

Fin stepped behind her and mimed putting something over Caroline's face, then put his hands firmly on her shoulders.

"He forces her down," said Caroline. Fin didn't do anything. "Fin, force me down."

"Hold on," said Fin, letting up. "Look here. Maria say he hit her?"

"Um…yeah. She said he hit her on the shoulder and she scratched her arm on the stall door. Why? Blood?"

"Yeah. Never know, could be two types there."

"Good eye. We can test it for both and we should UV the floor for semen."

"Okay. I'll let them know," said Fin, going over to the officers who were working just outside the bathroom door.

Caroline took another look around, squinting her eyes behind her square glasses. She smoothed her plait and tugged at it, wishing she had straight hair – it would be easier to braid. Something caught her eye just at that moment. She walked to the counter and squatted. It was in the very corner, almost the same shade as the dark tile. No wonder no one noticed it – it was a small piece of plastic, about half the size of Caroline's already petite little finger. She bagged it carefully and joined Fin outside.

"Found this," she said, showing him. "Could be a piece from that machine thing she uses to talk. Maybe there's a fingerprint or something."

"Could we be that lucky?"

"Probably not. But it's worth a shot anyway."

**DOINK-DOINK**

"Okay, what have we got?"

Cragen and all the detectives had gathered in the bullpen. Munch and Elliot, the most sleep-deprived of the bunch, were both gulping their way through yet more coffee and yawning.

"Twenty-nine year old victim named Maria Sedivi. She was attacked three years ago with a claw hammer to her throat, left her unable to use her vocal cords. She uses one of those machines to talk…what d'you call them…" Elliot trailed off, trying to remember the name.

"It's called an UltraVoice," said Fin. "People use them when they lose their voices to diseases like cancer and I guess when they lose them due to claw hammers."

"Yeah, that," Elliot continued. "Anyway, hers was stolen during the attack. He covered her face, raped her, hit her, and left her there. When we got there we were mistakenly told that Amy Solwey was the victim because she had gone down the hall saying 'rape'. She was the one who found Maria, though, so she's all right."

"Amy Solwey?" Cragen repeated.

"Yeah. She's been a great help," said Munch, automatically defending her.

"I'm sure she has. Where are we on the crime scene?"

"Fin and I were there all morning. There were obviously a ridiculous amount of fingerprints and DNA samples because it _is _a public restroom…but we did find a cigarette lighter and a piece of plastic that we think may have broken off of Maria's stolen UltraVoice," said Caroline. "They ran a UV light on the floor and found a little patch of seminal fluid which may or may not belong to the perp. They're testing it, but it'll take a little while."

"Could Maria identify her attacker?"

"She said she never saw him," said Olivia. "But he did tell her 'good thing you can't scream' while he raped her. If we do a lineup eventually, she could probably recognize him by his voice."

"My money's on her ex-husband," said Munch. "I mean, he attacked her once, who's to say he didn't do it again?"

"Wouldn't he still be in jail for something like that?" asked Caroline.

"Not necessarily. You know how crowded the prisons are," said Elliot. "I'll look up anyone named Sedivi."

"Do we know if that's her maiden name, though?"

"Good point. We can ask her when we see her later today. We're taking her a new UltraVoice and we're going to see if there's anything else she remembers," said Olivia.

"And while they're doing that, Caroline, my office," said Cragen.

Cragen went ahead into his office. Caroline looked for a second like a kid sentenced to the principal's office, then recovered herself and went in. The talk turned back to Maria.

"I just got something on the ex-husband," said Fin, who had been pounding away on his computer.

"Already?" said Olivia.

"This is an article that was online when it happened. It doesn't say whether or not he's in Rikers or what, but from what I'm reading here he damn well better be. It says he grabbed her by her hair, flipped her so her back was to him, and smashed her throat with the hammer. He left her there, but a neighbor had heard all the noise and called the police. They got there not long after Maria's husband ran off and picked him up a few blocks away. 'Sedivi was found' – so it is her husband's name – 'Sedivi was found in a diner trying to make a call from a payphone'…and then it talks about his upcoming trial."

"Which is now long past. That poor girl. Hasn't she been through enough?"

"You'd think," said Munch. "Some bastards never learn."

Caroline rejoined the group, her face blank. She sat down at her desk and started running a search on her computer.

"You okay?" Munch asked as discreetly as he could. Caroline nodded. "What are you searching for?"

"Sex offenders," she said. "Sedivi could be one."

"Got him!" said Elliot, hanging up his phone. "Daryl Sedivi was released from a psychiatric facility five months ago."

"What the hell kind of jury didn't convict him?" said Fin heatedly.

"The kind that thinks he's crazy. He pled an insanity defense, they bought it, and now he's out roaming the streets."

"Lovely. Any history of sexual abuse?" asked Caroline.

"No. And no domestic abuse was reported until the hammer incident."

"Either this guy really was crazy or Maria put up with way too much."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own SVU. I promise.

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**DOINK-DOINK**

Elliot and Olivia sat in Maria's living room. She had a new UltraVoice and was curled up on her sofa under an afghan.

"Maria," said Elliot. "I know this is hard, but is there anything else you can remember? A smell, a texture?"

"I don't know. I wasn't thinking about it. The bag or shirt or whatever it was – on my face – I smelled that. It was corduroy, I think."

"Corduroy?"

"It smelled like it. It felt like it."

Maria's mechanism simulated a female voice well, but it was still slightly off-putting to see this polite young woman having to use a machine to do her talking for her.

"Okay," said Olivia.

"Old corduroy."

"Old," Olivia told Elliot, who wrote it down. "Now, there's something else we need to ask. We know that your ex-husband has been released from the psychiatric facility he'd been in."

"He what?" Maria said, eyes wide.

"You didn't know?"

"No, I didn't. When did he get out?"

"About five months ago."

Maria's eyes filled with tears and she got up. She crossed to her window and turned back around.

"Do you think he could have done this?" asked Elliot.

"I don't know. Maybe," said Maria. "But then, I didn't think he'd try to kill me either."

Elliot went to Maria and looked her right in the eye.

"When he said what he said last night," he started gently. "Did it sound like your ex-husband?"

"I don't know," said Maria. "I just – I don't know."

"Really think. Is there anything else we can look for?"

"Someone with a cold. He sneezed and sniffed before he left the room."

"Okay. Is there anything else you can think of? Anything at all."

"No," said Maria, and she lay back down on the couch.

Olivia and Elliot got ready to leave. At the last second, Olivia turned back to Maria.

"You're doing great. Really," she said.

"Thank you," said Maria's machine.

**DOINK-DOINK**

"We checked out those attending the lecture. There were 800 or so, give or take the few who had comp. tickets, security, employees, and so on," said Munch as he and Fin slapped down a load of papers on Elliot's desk.

"How many were men?" asked Caroline.

"467."

Caroline groaned and put her head on her desk. Munch chuckled.

"Do we know how many of them were physically capable of committing a rape?" asked Elliot.

"They didn't exactly type 'paraplegic' on their tickets, so no," said Munch. "But we can find out where they sat."

"Well, what good does that do?" said Caroline.

"Elementary, my dear Caroline. We find out who sat in the front row, back row, aisle seats, and handicapped section and that should narrow it down. If they weren't able to walk, they couldn't sit in the middle of the row."

"Ah. Gotcha."

"And if they couldn't sit in the middle of the row, they couldn't commit the rape."

"Yeah, I got that, Munch, thanks."

Caroline's phone rang. When she answered it, her face suddenly lit up.

"Cathy! How are you? Are you there yet? Okay, I'll be there to pick you up then. I can't wait to see you!"

Munch wondered who Cathy was. She must have suddenly been the bearer of unhappy tidings, because Caroline's face fell slightly and her voice lowered.

"No, they haven't said yet…because they haven't said yet. Just give it some time, okay? And no matter what, it'll be fine. Okay. Okay, I'll see you in a couple hours. Bye."

Caroline hung up and smiled at Munch.

"My sister," she explained. "She's on her way into town. I just finished setting up her bed and stuff. We're sharing my bedroom…I can't wait. She's so excited to be coming."

"Well, bring her by. I'd like to meet her," said Munch.

"Oh, you'd love her. She's hilarious and liberal and a conspiracy theorist, too. But don't you dare think about hitting on her."

"I know she's nineteen. I'm not that desperate."

"No, you are that desperate. I'm just saving you from potential embarrassment since she's a lesbian and it's not worth trying."

Munch didn't know what to say. Caroline grinned.

"Just looking out for you," she said.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **Only $999,985 more until I own John Munch…but until then, I don't own anything from SVU.

**Author's Note: **This chapter is dedicated to the individual who requested Catherine Schmidt's entrance 

**CHAPTER SIX**

**DOINK-DOINK**

"Well, we've narrowed down the suspect pool from 467 to 129," said Elliot.

"Oh, great. That should make it so much easier," said Munch dryly.

"You started it."

"Got a partial print from that piece of plastic found at the crime scene. No matches, but we'll keep trying," said Fin.

"Has anyone bothered to interview the employees at the hall?" asked Cragen, chewing a piece of licorice ponderingly.

"Olivia and I are on it," said Elliot. "As soon as she's back from court."

"Talk to Phillip Cornell, too. He had a sort of reception afterwards, didn't he? Maybe he saw something."

"No problem."

"Caroline?"

Caroline, who had been at her desk quietly, squinting over some paperwork, looked up when she heard her name. Standing there was a girl was a few inches taller than Caroline and thinner, but she had the same dark wavy hair (worn in a chin-length bob rather than braids), the same faint spattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose, and the same naturally rosy cheeks. Her eyes were more almond-shaped than Caroline's and instead of bright brown, they were a dark blue color. However, it was her clothes that attracted the eye more than anything. She wore baggy orange pants, a tight white wife beater that said "La Vie Bohéme", and a bright green jacket. Everyone exchanged glances as they realized that this had to be Caroline's sister.

"Hey!" said Caroline, hopping up and giving her a hug. "Everyone, this is my sister, Catherine. Catherine, this is Odafin Tutuola, or just Fin, Elliot Stabler, Don Cragen, and John Munch. Olivia Benson's in court today, but you'd love her."

"Hey," said Catherine, giving a little wave.

"Hi, Catherine," said Munch, shaking her hand, since he was closest. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Are you the conspiracy guy?" she said. Her voice was lower than her sister's and she seemed more laidback.

Munch smiled. "Yes, I am."

"Are you all JFK or are you more of an 'All Your Base' kind of guy?"

"JFK."

"And where do you stand on the 2000 election?"

"Never happened."

"UFOs?"

"Probably arrested a few."

"We'll get along fine," said Catherine, grinning widely. "Listen, Caroline, what time do you think you'll be home tonight?"

"I have no idea. Why?" said Caroline.

"I just have to get some more stuff, but if you'll be very late, I can get it myself."

"Okay. I'll call you. When's your interview?"

"In an hour."

"It's all the way across town. You'd better get going."

"Okay. Oh, did you get the thing?"

"What thing?"

"The thing. The thing I left…the _thing_…"

"Oh, yeah, the thing. Yeah, I got that."

"Okay. Well…I should be going. See you later. Nice meeting you all."

Catherine waved to everyone once more and left. Caroline turned back to everyone proudly.

"She seems nice," said Elliot.

"Isn't she wild?" said Caroline. "I only wish I could be as chill as her. I got the neuroses of our mother."

"You're fine," said Munch. "Now then…I've got an appointment I can't miss."

"Need a ride?" Caroline offered, holding up her keys. "I'm out, too. I'm talking to Maria today."

"Sure."

**DOINK-DOINK**

"So, what was the thing?" asked Munch once they'd gotten into Caroline's car.

"What do you mean?"

"The thing. You know, the _thing_ that Catherine left for you."

"Cathy was just joking around," said Caroline evasively. "And you're being nosy."

"I'm just worried."

"Why?"

"You seem like something's wrong. I don't know, it's just…something. You're not yourself."

"You haven't known me long enough to determine what 'myself' is and what isn't."

"See, that right there. That's what I'm talking about. You're getting defensive."

"I'm not getting defensive."

"Yes, you are. Can't I just show concern for you without you freaking out?"

"I'm not freaking out and I'm not getting defensive!"

"If this is you not freaking out or getting defensive, then you're terrible at it."

"Shut up, Munch."

Munch shut up. He contented himself with looking out the window. Caroline flicked on the radio in a moody way and turned it to a talk station. Munch bristled when he heard the person being interviewed.

"So, Tobey, you're very adamant in your beliefs that sexual assault is something that shouldn't be addressed in public schools, aren't you?" said the radio host.

"Yes, Randall, I am. Public schools are already filled with enough troubles. School shootings, drug usage, sexual promiscuity, girls trying to dress like junior Paris Hiltons…talking about sexual assault only gives the boys ideas and gives the girls an excuse to cover up their own mistakes."

"What crack is this guy on?" said Caroline, turning the volume up. Munch wanted to smack her hand away and turn it off, but he resisted the urge.

"If a girl claims to be raped, she is almost always showing buyer's remorse. It's her own problem if she wants to strut around in a miniskirt and act like a little prostitute. If she regrets a decision she makes, that's her own problem. Women these days have been given too much power. The moment they say 'rape', the entire country comes to a screeching halt just to save them from a false enemy," Tobey Marks raved on.

"What sort of jackass says that?" said Caroline, outraged.

"That jackass," said Munch, pointing at her radio. "You haven't heard him yet?"

"No."

The radio host, Randall, was continuing. "Now, Tobey, you've received some negative press for some things you said about a teenage girl in Virginia who started her own foundation advocating victim's right. In one interview, you were quoted to have said, 'This young lady is only adding to the trouble. She says it's all right to sleep around and blame some innocent man for a false rape. If this is what our country is coming to, then people like her should be deported to wherever her mother came from'. They've said that's a very racist comment as well as an attack on a young girl who's trying to do good in the world. What's your response to that?"

"This should be good," said Caroline grimly.

"Well, Randall," said Tobey. "The young lady in question – I believe her name is Elizabeth Terri – is spending her time and energy promoting this organization. All she's done is shout and scream about how teenage girls get raped all the time and how nothing's being done in public schools about it. But we parents aren't sending our kids to school to learn about sex. We're sending them to get an education. They shouldn't waste their time listening to meaningless stories about some girl claiming to have been raped when they could use that time learning things they'll actually need. This Elizabeth girl is nothing but a troublemaking slut who's using this organization to hide her indiscretion."

"Bastard," Munch mumbled.

"You haven't answered the question of the racist nature of your comment," said Randall.

"It's not racist," said Tobey simply.

"But you did know that Elizabeth Terri is half black when you made the comment, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. But that only goes to prove my point further. It's a known fact that black women –"

"Okay, that's enough," said Caroline, flipping off the radio in disgust before she could hear another word. "What went wrong in his childhood that makes him think it's okay to let kids be totally ignorant about rape? I mean, seriously! Women are being assaulted every day and he says they're making it up?"

"Caroline, calm down. When you're mad, you swerve," said Munch, eyeing the road.

"No, but does he think it's _always _made up? Does he think that every woman and tiny little child who's raped is lying? What sort of bastard _says _that?"

"_That_ bastard!" said Munch, pointing to the radio again. "Tobey Marks is an idiot. Don't take him too seriously while you're driving. Once you park, feel free to scream at the top of your lungs."

"Sorry," said Caroline. "I'm just a little on edge."

"Yeah, I noticed. Ready to talk yet?"

Caroline started to say something, then stopped and took a left. They ended up right in the middle of a hellish gridlock.

"Perfect time to let it out," said Munch. "I'm all ears if you need me to be."

"I…I just…" Caroline trailed off.

She looked at Munch with eyes shining with tears that threatened to fall. Munch put a hand on her shoulder. Caroline sniffled and took a deep breath. Not looking at Munch, she started to speak quietly.

"There's nothing to talk about," she said simply, and she fell silent after that.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I don't own SVU. I do, however, own this plot, so please don't steal it.

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**DOINK-DOINK**

"Good morning, detectives. Sorry to keep you waiting," said Phillip Cornell as he greeted Elliot and Olivia. "This is such a terrible situation. I hope I can help."

"We hope you can, too," said Elliot. "Now, did you know Maria Sedivi personally?"

"No. Well, not really. I said hello to her at the reception, but there were so many people there, I barely had time to have conversation with anyone."

"Did you notice anything suspicious?"

"No, I really didn't. Everyone seemed so nice and very happy. My lectures are always well-received."

"Okay. Mr. Cornell, this is just a formality, but where were you between eight and nine o'clock that night?" asked Olivia.

"Well…eight o'clock until, I suppose, eight-fifteen or so, I was in the reception, and then after that I was on my way back to my hotel. The lecture was early because so much of the audience is disabled. They need time to get where they're going. Anyway, I went back to my hotel around eight-fifteen, eight-twenty, had a late dinner around nine, and went to bed."

"Can anyone confirm that?"

"Plenty of people. Some of the employees saw me here before I left."

"What about when you were riding to your hotel? Did you take a cab?"

"No, I walked. It's only a couple of blocks to the lecture hall from here."

"And when you had dinner?"

"I ordered room service for me and my wife."

"Where's your wife?"

"Out shopping, I imagine. She's never been to New York before and she wanted to take in the sights."

"Okay. Thank you."

Elliot pulled out a picture of Daryl Sedivi and handed it to Cornell. "Do you recognize this man?"

Cornell looked at it for a moment. "No, I don't think so."

"You're sure you didn't see him at the lecture?"

"No, I've never seen him before. Is he the one who did this?"

"We're not sure. Thank you for your time, Mr. Cornell."

Cornell saw them out. Once in the hall, Olivia turned to Elliot with a funny look.

"What?" asked Elliot.

"It's two blocks from here to the lecture hall. It doesn't take forty-five minutes to walk it," she said. "He could have done it."

"Well, we'll check out his alibi. Let's see if room service remembers him."

**DOINK-DOINK**

"Phillip Cornell? Yeah, I remember him. Big lecture guy, right? Always happy and saying stuff like 'have a blessed day'. My day ain't been blessed since I was baptized."

Elliot and Olivia had ventured down to the kitchens to question the hotel employee who had delivered dinner to Cornell the night of the attack. He was a loud Italian man with a mop of curly hair.

"You delivered dinner to his room around nine o'clock Tuesday night?" asked Olivia.

"Yeah. Well, more like nine-fifteen or something. We were a little backed up."

"Who placed the order?"

"I don't know. I didn't take it. You might ask Marilyn over there," said the employee, pointing. "I just delivered."

"Who took it from you?"

"His wife. Sweet lady."

"Did you see him in the room?"

"Nah. I left as soon as she took the food."

"Okay. Thanks."

Olivia and Elliot went over to the woman who had been identified as Marilyn. She was taking an order as they approached.

"Two orange juices…and a cheese Danish…and blueberry muffins. All right. Thank you. That'll be right up."

Marilyn hung up the phone and turned to the detectives.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"We were just wondering about the order you took from Phillip Cornell's room on Tuesday night," said Elliot. "Did he place it or did his wife?"

"Cornell…oh, yeah. His wife did. Seemed like a lot of food for one person, but she said her husband was on his way."

"Did you see Cornell come in at all?"

"No, I was here. Ask the front desk manager."

Olivia sighed and went to talk to the desk manager. A moment later, she returned, shaking her head.

"Airtight alibi," she said. "Desk guy remembers Cornell coming in around eight-fifteen."

"Great. So who do we go to next?"

"Who else? Daryl Sedivi. Let's see how he feels when he finds out he didn't silence Maria."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **Not only does SVU not belong to me, but I missed last night's episode! I did, however, watch the original "Law and Order" reruns. They were quite good. I 3 Jack McCoy.

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**DOINK-DOINK**

"Maria, I'm so sorry to be pushing you like this, but you really need to think back as best you can. Is there anything – _anything _else you can remember?"

"I've told you before. I have no idea. All I know is that he put something over my face, raped me, and left. I don't remember anything else."

"You said he spoke to you."

"Yes. He said 'Good thing you can't scream'."

"What did his voice sound like?"

"Angry."

"I mean…did he have an accent? Did it sound gravelly or anything? High? Low? What can you give me?"

"Why are you pushing this so hard?"

"I'm sorry. Let's try again. Was his voice high-pitched?"

"Not really."

"Did he sound young or old?"

"I guess young."

"Accent?"

"I don't think so…but it all happened so fast…"

Caroline sighed and put down her notepad. Maria blinked back tears.

"I'm sorry," said Maria. "It's just so hard to remember."

"I know," said Caroline, putting an arm around her. "I just want to catch this guy."

"I know. Thank you so much."

Maria finally let herself cry. It didn't sound like natural crying because of her throat problems. Instead, her tears came in short, wet gasps. Caroline held her close and stroked her hair like a mother would her little girl.

"I remember something," said Maria. "He had a watch. It was gold…very big…and it had something like a diamond on the side of it."

"How did you see that?"

"Just before the bag or whatever it was came over my eyes."

"Okay. Maria…listen to me. I promise you that I'm going to do everything I can to take care of this. But you have to promise me that if you remember anything else, anything at all, that you'll call me, okay? I don't care if it's three in the morning. You need to tell me or any of the other detectives," said Caroline, giving Maria her cell phone number.

"Okay. I promise."

**DOINK-DOINK**

Munch knocked on the door. A woman opened it and peered at him curiously.

"I'm Detective John Munch," he said, showing her his badge. "I need to talk to Amy."

"Okay," said the translator. She let Munch in. "She's lying down, but she's awake reading."

Munch looked over to see Amy lying on her bed, looking at a magazine. Her translator got her attention and signed something to her, then indicated Munch, who gave an awkward wave. Amy's face brightened to see him.

"How are you?" she asked.

"I'm fine. I need to ask you again about Tuesday night. Is there anything else you haven't told us yet?"

Amy started to sign while her translator spoke. "I don't think so. All I remember is going into the bathroom, seeing her lying there, and going out to get help. Then they held me there and wouldn't listen to a word I said."

"What about before you went into the bathroom? Were you at the reception?"

"Yes. I was there for about thirty minutes."

"Do you remember seeing anything unusual there?"

"No. Everyone seemed fine."

"Had you seen Maria Sedivi before then?"

Amy thought for a second. "Yes. I saw her talking to a man by the banquet table. I remember liking her skirt."

"Do you remember anything about the man? What he looked like?"

"He was tall – but then, everyone's tall when you sit down all day."

Amy smiled. Munch hesitated before smiling back.

"What about hair color?" he asked.

"Dark. Dark brown. And he was wearing a black suit."

Munch took out the pictures they'd arranged in an array.

"Is he one of these men?"

Amy studied the picture. "It could be," she said in her own voice. "I was far away, but it looks like him."

Munch noted that she'd pointed out Daryl Sedivi and put the picture away. He and Amy exchanged a silent look.

"You doing okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she signed.

"Give me a call sometime. Let me know how you're doing."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Amy said with a half-smile.

Munch returned the smile as soon as he realized what she meant and realized his mistake. As he walked out the door, he heard Amy call him back. He looked back in.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I hope you get to arrest him."

"Me too."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **Maybe if I ask REALLY nicely, Dick Wolf will let me write an episode. Until then, I'm not associated with SVU in any way.

**CHAPTER NINE**

**DOINK-DOINK**

"All right, Munch, thanks."

Elliot hung up his phone as Olivia turned on to the street where Daryl Sedivi lived.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"Amy Solwey identified Daryl Sedivi from the array. She said he was talking to Maria at the reception."

"Now why wouldn't she have told us that? I thought she didn't even know he was out of the ward."

"Maybe she's scared. I mean, she was raped. Maybe she thinks something else will happen if she tells."

"Yeah, well, I'd like to hear what this guy has to say for himself."

Daryl Sedivi was on his porch, tending to a potted plant. Elliot and Olivia got out of the car and approached him.

"Daryl Sedivi?" Olivia said, pulling out her badge.

Daryl took off running at top speed. Elliot chased him and pinned him a block later against the side of a brick building and began cuffing him.

"I didn't do anything!" Daryl shouted.

"Yeah, that's why you ran? Try again. Daryl Sedivi, you are under arrest…"

**DOINK-DOINK**

"This doesn't look good, Daryl. You mute your wife with a claw hammer, spend time in a psychiatric ward, and you're not even out for six months before you go after her again," said Elliot, circling Daryl in the interrogation room.

"You just couldn't stand that she'd taken control of her life again, could you?" Olivia chimed in.

"She'd gotten a job, was wearing what she wanted, she even dated a few times. You didn't like that very much, did you?"

"From what I understand, you didn't even allow her to call her mother when you were married."

"Now she talks to her – excuse me, her machine talks to her – at least once a week."

"How's it feel, Daryl? Losing control like that?"

"Look," said Daryl. "I'm sorry for what I did. I never meant for it to get to that point. I went there that night to talk to her and apologize, but it just got out of hand."

Elliot and Olivia exchanged glances.

"Is that a confession?" Elliot asked.

"A confession to what? I didn't do anything I could confess to!"

"You saw your wife at that lecture. She was there to re-able herself. You didn't go there to talk to her, you went there to take what you wanted from her. You wanted to disable her. Again."

"No."

"How many times did you rape her while you were married, Daryl?" asked Olivia.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on. You can't tell me you allowed her a headache now and then."

"She did as I said. And how exactly do you rape a wife, anyway? Sex is part of the deal."

"No means no…_jackass_," said Elliot with poison in his voice.

"I want my lawyer," said Daryl. "And I want him now."

**DOINK-DOINK**

Caroline bolted into the stationhouse, her braids flying behind her. Munch allowed himself a chuckle at her wardrobe: a red plaid shirt, jeans, and brown sneakers.

"Howdy," said Munch.

"I was painting, you ass," she shot at him. "So, what's this I hear about Sedivi?"

"Elliot and Olivia brought him in a few hours ago. He lawyered up."

"Damn it!" said Caroline, collapsing into her chair. "I wanted to get a piece of him before then."

"Quit whining, you'll get your turn," said Munch.

Caroline leaned back in her chair and pulled a candy bar out of a drawer. She broke it in half and handed one half to Munch.

"Thanks," he said.

"You need to up your caloric intake," said Caroline. "My mother would have a field day fattening you up."

"Hey, you feeling okay?"

Munch had just noticed how exhausted Caroline looked, not to mention that her eyes were slightly puffy. He wondered if she had been crying.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she said. "Oh, there's Cragen. I needed to talk to him…"

With that, she stuffed the rest of her candy bar into her mouth and rushed up to Cragen, who then signaled her into his office. Munch wrestled with himself. On the one hand, eavesdropping was not only wrong, it would land him in a lot of trouble. On the other hand, he was very concerned about Caroline. The other hand won, and Munch made his way over to the door of Cragen's office under the pretense of searching for a paper he'd misplaced. He could just barely make out their conversation.

"Have you decided anything?" Cragen was saying.

"Well, it's not like I'll be able to work after a certain point…possibly later, but in a few months, it'll be next to impossible," came Caroline's worried voice.

"What did the doctors say?"

"There are a couple options, none of which I like…I'll be okay, Captain, really. I will. It's just a matter of figuring things out. And having Catherine here will really help out. She'll take care of me."

Munch's heart stopped for a split second as he realized what Caroline was talking about and he barely had time to rush back to his desk before she came out of Cragen's office, stony-faced once more.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **Still not mine. Grrr.

**CHAPTER TEN**

**DOINK-DOINK**

Munch arrived very early the next morning, still half-asleep. He had spent most of his evening going between working on Maria Sedivi's case and worrying about Caroline before falling asleep at his kitchen table and waking with a terrible crick in his neck. Cragen was already there, drinking his way through what was probably his third coffee that morning.

"Morning," said Cragen as Munch approached.

Instantly, Munch felt guilt wash over him as he thought of what his captain would say if he knew he'd been eavesdropped on. All the same, Munch weighed his emotions and decided that worry about his colleague outranked worry about a slap on the wrist.

"Captain, can we talk for a minute?"

Cragen nodded and showed Munch into his office, then closed the door.

"What's this about?" he asked.

"It's about Schmidt," said Munch. "I overheard – well, I heard on purpose, actually – you two talking last night. I know I shouldn't have and I apologize, but I was worried about her. And now I'm even more worried."

Cragen sighed, but did not look angry. Instead, he sat down on his desk and crossed his arms.

"She'll be okay," said Cragen.

"Yeah, but what is she going to do? You saw how she was riding a desk for two weeks. A few months is going to drive her crazy."

"I'd rather her be a little crazy and safe than totally sane and making her condition worse."

"I agree."

"Why are you so focused on her, John?" asked Cragen. "Would you be acting like this if it were Fin who was sick?"

Munch though the use of the word "sick" was a strange way to refer to a pregnancy, and thought it even stranger that Cragen decided to refer to Fin rather than Olivia or someone who could actually be pregnant, but he disregarded it and turned his attention to being annoyed at Cragen's question.

"Of course I would," he said firmly. Cragen eyed him, so he went on. "Look, I know everyone here seems to think I have a raging crush on her, but that's not it. Yeah, we're close, but it's because we were those 'instant best friend' types, you know? The kind of people who just get along pretty easily and are automatically comfortable with each other. But I can say truthfully that if it were anyone in this unit who was…in her position…I would be just as concerned."

"Okay," said Cragen, and he seemed satisfied. "I know you care about her a lot and that she'll tell you anyway, so here's the deal. She's going to keep working for a while, but once she starts chemo, she'll be on a desk until she's done with it. She'll be too weak –"

"Chemo?" Munch interrupted, his heart skipping a beat.

"Yeah. What did you think she was going to do?"

"I…I thought she was pregnant," said Munch sheepishly. "I misunderstood what I overheard."

"No, John," said Cragen, as though he didn't think it odd at all that Munch had assumed Caroline was pregnant. "She has cervical cancer, but they caught it pretty early, and…"

As Cragen told Munch about Caroline's plans, his head began reeling. So she wasn't pregnant after all. Caroline had cancer. That explained everything, including her sister moving out to live with her. It wasn't so someone could help care for a baby, it was so someone could help care for her. While he was pleased to hear that she wouldn't be hearing the pitter-patter anytime soon, especially considering how pro-abstinence she was, he felt a terrible sinking in his stomach knowing how ill his fellow detective was.

A moment later, Cragen's door opened and, speak of the devil, there stood Caroline. Her long hair was pulled back in its usual braid and she wore her typical feminine blouse and tailored slacks with her heavy boots. No makeup graced her face, but she remained cute without it. All of these very usual things suddenly seemed terribly unusual because of the circles under her eyes, the slight swell of her bottom lip as though she had been biting it a lot lately, the paleness of her cheeks, and the very _old _look on her very young face.

"Hey, Captain," she said in a would-be casual voice. "Hey, John."

"Morning," said Cragen.

"Come in," said Munch.

"Actually, no offense, but I was hoping to talk to Cragen alone, if that's okay…"

"I know what it's about, Caroline," said Munch, and Caroline's eyes widened slightly.

"How did you find out?" she asked, closing the door behind her and speaking in a forced calm manner.

"I eavesdropped last night. I'm so sorry," said Munch as Caroline's mouth dropped open in indignation. "I was worried. You wouldn't tell me what was going on."

"Because I wasn't going to tell _anyone_ except the captain until I was positive that was what was happening!" she said slightly more shrilly. "You had no right to listen in on that conversation, John!"

"I know, and I'm sorry, but –"

"But nothing! How dare you do something like that? I would never do that to you!"

"I already apologized. What more do you want?"

"Look," said Cragen, stepping in before the hair-pulling and eye-poking began. "Can we put that aside for now? Schmidt, what's going on? What do you need?"

"I just wanted to let you know that my surgery's been moved to the sixteenth," she said, pointedly not looking at Munch. "So I have a few more days than I thought to be in the field."

"I don't want you overexerting yourself," said Cragen.

"I won't," said Caroline. "I'll be careful not to. And I guess I'll have to learn to keep my voice down from now on."

Caroline turned on her heel and marched out of the office, leaving the door open behind her. Both Munch and Cragen sighed and looked at each other.

"Well, that went well," said Munch.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **Gimme an N! Gimme an O! Gimme a T! Gimme an M! Gimme an I! Gimme an N! Gimme an E! Put it all together and what do you get? NOT MINE!

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

Olivia and Elliot left the interview room looking both sickened and triumphant.

"Got him?" inquired Fin as they approached his desk.

"He confessed to everything," said Elliot. "Hardly took any persuading once his lawyer told him what he'd be facing if he didn't plead guilty."

"How's Maria?"

"I'm on my way to talk to her now," said Olivia. "Have you seen Schmidt? I wanted to see if she wanted to come along. I know she and Maria had a rapport going."

"I think she's on the roof," said Fin. "Munch went up there a while ago and was saying something about taking her some chocolate."

"The roof?" said Elliot. "That doesn't sound good."

The roof of the precinct was generally the place to go when a case got to be too much to handle, when emotions ran so high that fresh air and height were the only remedies.

"I'll go make sure they're okay," said Olivia, and she pulled on her jacket, making her way up to the roof.

**DOINK-DOINK**

Caroline stood leaning over the barrier of the roof, staring down into the traffic, the loose, wavy strands of hair that had fallen from her braid whipping around in the wind. She hadn't bothered to bring her coat up with her and was freezing, but would never admit it. She sensed the presence of another and turned to see who it was. Predictably, it was Munch, who had her coat in one hand and a candy bar in the other.

"Hey," she called softly.

Munch approached and handed her the coat, which she pulled on gratefully. He then unwrapped the candy bar, broke it in half, and handed it to her, keeping half for himself.

"I came up to apologize again," said Munch.

"I know. It's okay. I'm sorry I went off on you like that."

"I don't blame you."

They were both silent for a few moments as they ate their chocolate and listened to the sound of honking horns and sirens below.

"How are you holding up?" Munch asked.

"Obviously not too well," said Caroline. "I hate being the detective who shows up, pisses off the precinct, then gets sick a few months in and has to take time off. It's pathetic."

"First of all, it's not like you're taking a vacation. Second of all, pathetic my ass. Third of all, you didn't piss off the precinct, just me and Olivia a few times," said Munch.

Caroline managed a smile at the memories of the quarrels that took place when she had first arrived at the Special Victims Unit.

"Look, anything you need, I'm here, got it? Even if you're a pain in the ass sometimes, you're a pain in the ass who's my friend, and I want to make sure you're okay," said Munch.

Caroline laughed right aloud. "Ahem. Pot. Kettle. Black."

Munch gave a half-smile back at her.

"Are you scared?" he asked.

"Not really," said Caroline, and Munch could tell she was telling the truth. "I'm more scared about not being able to do my job."

"You don't need to worry about that. If I know you at all, you'll be barking out orders and solving cases at lightning speed again in no time."

"Thanks, John."

There was a pause in which both detectives tried to think of something to say. Finally, Caroline just laughed again.

"Wanna hug it out?" she offered, and Munch grinned.

They gave each other a tight hug, something rather unusual for NYPD, but nonetheless a nice gesture. As they did so, Olivia joined them, peeking out the door.

"Hey," said Caroline, pulling away from Munch.

Olivia had an eyebrow raised, as though silently asking if she'd interrupted something. Munch tried to summon all his powers of telepathy to will Olivia not to ask if she'd done so. Evidently, he had no psychic power whatsoever.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked slyly.

Munch tapped his head. "Is this thing on?"

"Nah," said Caroline, ignoring Munch. "What's up?"

"Daryl Sedivi confessed to raping Maria. He'll plead guilty, of course, and he'll serve twenty-five to life because of the previous bad acts. He'll be eligible for parole, of couse, but we'll pretend that's not true for now. I was about to go tell Maria, want to come?" Olivia offered.

"Absolutely. Oh, and there's something I need to talk to you about…" said Caroline as the women left.

Munch watched as they left through the door and down the stairs and sighed, wishing more than ever that he felt as though he had a God to pray to. It would definitely come in handy right about now.

**THE END**


End file.
